This invention relates to a shackle and more particularly to a shackle for connecting and disconnecting a mooring line to a mooring buoy or the like.
In the operation of small boats, it is frequently necessary to moor the boat away from the dock usually by attaching a mooring line to a buoy having a mooring ring. Since the ring carried by the buoy may be several feed beyond the reach of the boat operator, considerable difficulty is often encountered in securing the clip on the end of a mooring line to the mooring buoy and in inclement weather a certain degree of danger may be involved. Similar difficulties are encountered in disengaging the mooring line and in rough weather the difficulties may be sufficient to require the cutting of the mooring line rather than the disengagement of the line from the buoy.
Despire these difficulties and attendant occasional hazzards, it is the general practice to attach a clip on the end of a mooring line to the ring of a mooring buoy by manually bringing the parts together. Alternately, the mooring line may be threaded through the loop on the mooring buoy and secured with a knot. In either case the actions required are awkward, difficult and occasionally dangerous.
It is believed that prior to the present invention it has not been proposed to use remotely operated shackles to facilitate the engagement of the mooring line and the mooring buoy. This, despire the availability, in the prior art of remotely operable locking shackles. An example of such a shackle is disclosed in Pat. 3,646,645. This device however is a relatively complex expensive construction and clearly not suitable for service in a marine environment.
With the foregoing considerations in mind, it is the principal purpose and object of the invention to provide an improved remotely operated shackle which overcomes the difficulties with prior constructions described above and eliminates the awkwardness and danger associated with connecting and disconnecting a mooring line from a mooring line buoy.
In attaining this and other objects the present invention provides an improved shackle which includes a hook portion having a wide mouth to facilitate its placement over and around a mooring ring and a remotely actuatable shackle pin to close the opening to retain the ring within the hook portion of the shackle. During engagement of the shackle with the mooring ring, the pin is normally held in the open position by a blocking member frictionally held on the pin, the blocking member being moutable on the end of the a boat hook so that the shackle in its entirety may be thus detachably secured on the boat hook. The locking operation is completed by pulling the blocking member away from the shackle. When the blocking member is removed, the pin snaps to closed position.
The shackle is released from the mooring ring by pulling the shackle pin away from its closed position by a boat hook or similar implement permitting the shackle to slide off the mooring hook.